Insecticon Break-In
Entrance to Autobot City - San Francisco The vast atrium of Autobot City's entranceway stands before you. When Metroplex is not in residence, this area doubles as a military spaceport. Large towers relay information from around the globe and keeps the spaceport in contact with Earth's solar system outposts and the rest of the known universe. Security cameras and gun emplacements surrounding the entrance make sure that only those who are welcome enter. Scorch marks and small holes in the wall are reminders of the last battle here for Autobot City. When Metroplex is not present, a gate allows easy passage to and from the battle station's facilities. The Space Bridge to Cybertron is constantly monitored by solemn-faced personnel. To the north is the landing pad for flights to and from Earth. Contents: Shrapnel Hound Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> Elita One Metroplex City Defenses Autobot City Sky Lynx's Lair Autobot Spacebridge Terminus PlayCo Toys Obvious exits: Gated Doors leads to Outskirts of San Francisco, California. North leads to Landing Pad. From within the barracks, Elita One raises her head to the alert message. She darts out into the main hallway, then starts her way outside to assess the situation. > She draws her sidearm, shooting at a few of the clones in her path. She mutters, "What in the world is this about?" <> She bashes one of the clones with her forearm, a single one down among a swarm. She holds a hand to her audio receptors, receiving the Olympics broadcast, "What is the meaning of this?" Hound was taking a nice, relaxing break after being dunked in lava during that sharpshooting competition, when all of a sudden /Insecticlones/ attack! "By Primus, they're everywhere!" he cries, grabbing his rifle from subspace. He's got to somehow get them off of Metroplex before they...do whatever it is they're doing. Probably just after a quick snack. In any case, he starts firing up at them from the ground, trying to thin their ranks as much as he can. Repugnus has arrived. You paged Shrapnel with 'ANd this one too: A plague of Insecticlones has descended upon the Autobots, just as Metroplex warned his fellows! The cityformer begins to fire at the approaching Insecticlones, but while he destroys many of them, their numbers are great enough that they still manage to swarm him, infesting his outer hull and gnawing ceaselessly to get inside. "YES! Feed, my Insecticons! FEEED!" Bombshell says as he floats overhead in robot mode. "We must get inside at all costs! And also we're coming to YOU, LIVE from Autobot City, where the ultimate contest has begun!" Bombshell announces, as he points at a nearby cambot registed to Six Lasers. "YES! It is the ultimate Olympic contest! Can the Autobots prevent the Insecticons and their mind controlled allies from breaking into their city, or will be able to accomplish our MYSTERIOUS OBJECTIVE!?"' Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> is one of the Decepticons who arrive with the swarm of Insecticons. There are no snide remarks, cautious approaches, or aerial manuevers, however... just steady flying on a straight course, then circling in wide arcs overhead as Insecticons descend on the city. Anyone who knows Blast Off knows his contempt for the Insecticons, so logic suggests he is being controlled with a cerebro-shell and used as cargo or troop transport. Shrapnel's fingers twitch graspingly, standing near and slightly behind Bombshell, watching the carnage impatiently. Everyone who knows Bombshell well keeps him in front of them if they know what's good for them. "I can't wait until we can crack it open and pull out the juicy meat, meat! The Autobots are such fools, distracted with these silly games, games." His head jerks to one side momentarily in a sort of grimacing wink, and he eyes Bombshell craftily. ROLL: Hound rolled a 2 Blurr arrives from the Main Lobby - First Floor to the east. Blurr has arrived. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) "Yes, silly Autobots and their games, hahaha!" Bombshell agrees. He turns his head back to the right a bit, and notices the cambot that's right there. "...er...hahahaha! Yes, like the silly game we are playing right now! And as part of this contest, we are going to destr--er, DISABLE those Autobots! Those ones right there!" He points down at the Autobots. "BLAST OFF! You destroy the Autobots, too! And whistle something pretty while you do it!" Bombshell starts things off by firing some lasers from his rifle at Hound. Combat: Bombshell strikes Hound with his Ionic charge (Laser) attack! Halligan arrives from the Main Lobby - First Floor to the east. Halligan has arrived. Shrapnel sneers in Bombshell's direction as if he had just said something terribly funny and transforms, his swarm moving out and engaging several of the Autobots! Shrapnel-clones swoop down from Metroplex, while others launch themselves from around Shrapnel himself, where he controls them from within their steadily increasing number. Shrapnel converts into his giant stag beetle form. Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> misses Elita One with his Swarm Investigation Area attack! -3 Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> misses Cybertronian Hovercar with his Swarm Investigation Area attack! -3 Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> 's wing elevons twitch- whether in response to Bombshell's comment, or the fact that he now decends himself towards the city, is anyone's guess. He does start singing some Kaon Opera, though. He's actually not totally bad, either... at an especially dramatic moment, he comes in towards Elita One. The song goes on about how beautiful things must blossom- then die! His lasers strike at that moment. Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes Elita One with his Wilted Flowers attack! -7 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Elita One draws her second battle pistol, a sharpshooter in a target rich environment. In a barrage of shots, she starts to drop opponents, flashes of her flare pistols accompanying the ones that fall. One of the larger beetle types rush her as she steps forward. It comes in low enough that she simply steps onto it, empties three rounds into its head in the same motion. > After a moment's pause she adds, > She raises her pistols targeting Shrapnel as his plague of insecticlones come at her. She burst fires into the cloud of insects, enough to blunt the attack. Her focus was great enough on that, that Blast Off clips her on the side. <> She shifts her stance into a guns akimbo position, ripping off shots at both of her attackers. <> Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected. Air Raid has arrived. Combat: Elita One strikes Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> with her Battle Pistols Area attack! -1 Combat: Elita One strikes Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> with her Battle Pistols Area attack! -1 There are just too many of the Insecticlones! Even if Hound shoots one down, another just takes its place! <> he starts to ask, but Elita seems to have found the culprit. Hound follows her gaze, making out Bombshell's shape through the swarm...just before an ionic charge hits his shoulder, blasting a hole in the armor and knocking him back a step. The scout immediately retaliates with a shot of his own. "I've got him!" Sanguine has arrived. Combat: Hound strikes Bombshell with his Laser - Better Than Icy Hot For Knees!! (Laser) attack! Combat: You took 2 damage. Red and blue lights can be seen in the dark of the hallway. The shades of red and blue are becoming more intense as whatever is carrying them is coming closer. Stepping out is the massive form of the Autobot SWAT officer Halligan. The police lights on top of his shoulders are still blinking. He is carrying a BIG shotgun which he cocks menacingly as he surveys the scene. "Allright...not much use asking them to surrender." He raises his shotgun and starts making his way towards Elita 1 so they can fight back to back to prevent from being totally swarmed. Halligan aims at Shrapnel and fires a slug at the Insecticon. Combat: Halligan strikes Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> with his SPAS-12 Shotgun attack! -3 ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Several of the Shrapnel clones go down to the crack shooting of Elita and Halligan's riot gun, but there are more behind them, and around them! They're gnawing into Metroplex even as the Autobots bravely defend themselves from the rush of the swarm. Which one is actually Shrapnel? Any of them? The chittering sound they make in their dozens and hundreds is incessant and maddening. Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> sets his defense level to Protected. Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> is hit by Elita One right at the part where he's singing about the wilted flowers turning to ash....only to bloom again next year. The shuttle shudders momentarily as his fueslage is ripped across the side by her shot. He pulls down his elevons again and lifts up quickly, arcing back around for another target. This time it's Hound. The green jeep-bot is locked in his sights as he fires again. This time the opera song shifts to something about being far away from home... and yet finding happiness. "Hahaha, the Autobots are already failing to protect their precious city!" Bombshell laughs as Insecticons swarm all over Autobot City, and while Metroplex's armor is formidable, Insecticons are notorious for their ferocious hunger. Holes begin to appear across Metro's armor. However, a hole also appears in Bombshell's knee after Hound shoots him! "GAH! Wretched illusionist!" The evil weevil descends towards the city, and fires mortar shells down at the entrance, trying to clear it of Autobots! A few Insecticlones go down, but Bombshell deems them expendable anyway. "Out of the way, Autobots! We're going to... er... win this sanctioned event!" Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes Hound with his Not All Wanderers Are Lost attack! -6 Combat: That is not an area attack. Combat: Bombshell strikes Hound with his Mortar Launcher attack! -2 Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> strikes Halligan with his Gnawing Plague Area attack! -3 Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> strikes Metroplex City Defenses with his Gnawing Plague Area attack! -3 Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> strikes Hound with his Gnawing Plague Area attack! -3 Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> misses Elita One with his Gnawing Plague Area attack! -3 Air Raid shifts and twists into his black F-15E Strike Eagle mode. Sanguine's rotors snap to and begin to spin while her torso folds inwards to form an Agusta A109 helicopter. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Halligan watches with satisfaction as the shotgun blows away a couple of clones but it's not stopping the swarm. 2 more shots and he will either have to switch weapons or stop for reloading. He smacks an insecticon in the face with the butt of his shotgun. "Anyone know what they are talking about? Olympic event?" Elita One scowls, she manages to look back over her shoulder as Halligan makes his entrance, "Good show, Bot." She promptly fires just over his shoulder, splatting two more clones, then ducks and rolls off to the side. <<'Hound', listen up, get to one of Metroplex turrets and put that crackshot skill to work!>> She looks aside to Halligan, "Hold the line for me, Going to take control of some weapon systems." Elita One slips backwards to a bunker, then starts hitting a control console. Several of the weapon turrets shift position, following her marking as electro-blasters come alive. She moves to just spray and pray, shooting bugs as if she was some sort of starship trooper. "Wait..." She glances over at the camera. Was it hovering next to a specific bug? Was that one of the real leadership? No time is wasted as she opens fire. Combat: Halligan strikes Bombshell with his Shotgun stock to the face! (Punch) attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: Elita One strikes Bombshell with Metroplex City Defenses's Scamper's Electro-Blasters Area attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Bombshell's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Elita One strikes Shrapnel with Metroplex City Defenses's Scamper's Electro-Blasters Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Shrapnel's Accuracy. (Blinded) F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> is totally PUMPED to find Metroplex swarming with Insecticons. "Attack on the home base! I like their gumption!" He flies high over the city and descends with a very abrupt nosedive, straight for the swarm. His weapons remain stowed as he swoops down, instead electing to distract. Hopefully. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'>'s Buzz the Tower attack aimed for Shrapnel backfires! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> strikes himself with his Buzz the Tower Area attack! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'>'s Buzz the Tower attack aimed for Bombshell backfires! Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> strikes himself with his Buzz the Tower Area attack! Medical Helicopter <'Sanguine'> has returned to Autobot City for a few repairs to her flight systems after the ill-advised breakdancing move at the competition the previous night. The doctor now puts those rotors to use, zipping down open corridors and deftly weaving through encroaching insecticons. Sanguine gets some air to join her comrades, transforming midair to take up a position amidst the other Autobots. "Insecticons!" She declares the obvious, while the twin prongs of her main weapon slide into view from her forearm. "Where did they come from?" The Agusta A109's cab and tail boom split open to reveal the Autobot doctor Sanguine. Combat: Sanguine sets her defense level to Guarded. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Hound once again finds himself under fire, but it's from three different directions now! Blast Off's shot slams into his chest, knocking him back again, and Bombshell hits his leg, causing him to fall to the ground with a grunt of pain. Thankfully, he's able to transform and drive away just in time to avoid a direct hit from the mortar shelling, the shockwave from the explosion simply throwing him aside. And then Elita orders him to go for one of the turrets. Once he's righted himself, he drives off to one of the other bunkers, quickly transforming back to robot mode and all but throwing himself at the console. "Eat this, Decepticreep!" he yells, launching a missile at Bombshell. Combat: Hound strikes Bombshell with Metroplex City Defenses's Six-Gun's Guided Missile attack! Combat: You took 12 damage. Combat: Hound's attack has damaged your Agility! ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) While Elita is expertly shooting the swarm off of Metroplex's hull with the weapon emplacements, one of the Shrapnel'''s turns towards '''Air Raid as he comes into a swooping supersonic dive, raising his long silver horns towards the incoming jet. While several of the swarm are tumbled or hurled into the air by the supersonic low-speed flyby, the attentive Shrapnel follows Air Raid with his antennae, emitting a piercing electronic squeal of radio waves which threatens to send the Aerialbot entirely out of control! Combat: Shrapnel sets his defense level to Aggressive. Shrapnel converts into his giant stag beetle form. Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> strikes F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> with his Electromechanical Hijacking attack! Combat: Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'>'s attack has strange and mysterious effects on F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'>. Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'>'s Agility. (Crippled) Bombshell gets rocked by the crossfire coming from both Halligan and Elita One, lasers and pellets hitting him from every direction, forcing him to hold up a hand to shield his optics! "OW OW! Insecticlones, work faster, damn you!" Insecticlones swarm the entrance to AC, gnawing a hole straight through it. He rushes to follow the horde as it chews its way inside, but suddenly he's sent flying as a missile explodes right beside him! "GYAAAHHHH! Enngh--running out of time!" Bombshell grunts as he land in a flaming heap! "Have to... have to make them fight EACH OTHER!" Bombshell exclaims, and transforms into insect mode! "Now who is the strongest Autobot! Hm..." Surveying the area, his little probiscis aiming at Halligan, then settling on Elita One. "Might be her... but she looks nimble and I can't afford to miss! I choose YOU!" And he fires a Cerebro shell right at Halligan's cranium! Combat: Bombshell sets his defense level to Fearless. Bombshell transforms into rhinoceros beetle mode! Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> strikes Halligan with his Cerebro Shell attack! Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> swerves around after his strike on Hound as Air Raid suddenly appears to save the day- by shooting himself, apparently. The Combaticon finds himself chuckling and finally speaks. Taunting Aerialbots is so ingrained into his psyche that it pushes through his awareness enough for him to sneer, "Aerialbot marksmanship at it's finest!" The shuttle flies in closer, "Actually... at least ONE of you can usually manage to not shoot HIMSELF... If Skydive were here, I might actually need to dodge an attack..." However, Shrapnel gets to Air Raid first, and the shuttle maneuvers out of the way of the attacks, instead choosing another target for now. Spotting Sanguine, he goes for her instead. "Try to look like Vortex, will you? I doubt you'd be able to hold a candle to him..." Still following Bombshell's instructions, he starts whistling the "Airwolf" themesong. Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes Sanguine with his Airwolfwhistling attack! -6 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> totally loses control of his thrusters and tumbles into the swarm, his shockwave catching up with him and shattering his canopy. Again. "AAAHHHH!" It's painful but he gets a kick out of it anyway, "WOOOO!" Elita directs him to focus on a camera... but he can't get too far with Shrapnel's CRAZY HORNS transmitting some highly disorientating radio waves. "Ackk!" Raid's sensors are sent for a whirl and he yet again cartwheels and tumbles. It's been a very graceless entry. If he can just manage to aim his crashing... Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> strikes Giant Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> with his Ram attack! Halligan gets stung in the back of the head by something...The Autobot freezes for half-a-second without realizing and shakes the cobwebs out. Spins around lets the perp have some sweet shotgun vengence. Combat: Halligan's SPAS-12 Shotgun attack on Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> goes wild! Combat: Halligan strikes Hound with his SPAS-12 Shotgun attack! -1 Elita One hits a few console buttons, readjusting the guns for auto-fire. She glances up to see Air Raid shoot past into the swarm, <> Perhaps that taunt'd be enough to help him get his game together, she mused. Still there was something going on with that camera. She focuses on that, there HAD to be something going on with it, and using the console, (admittedly on the forefront of a battle) she just might be able to figure out what it was. Absently, she tries to key in a scan for the transmissions as she shoots at a few Insecticons that come a bit too close to the sun. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Elita One has 'skipped' her action for this round. A drizzle of rain starts to fall from what had been only a light overcast, a cool wind from the Bay kicking up in the previously-pleasant evening. Sanguine attempts to shield herself, but gets her armor rattled by Blastoff's attack, which has the added effect of shaking up a few of her internals. "That's a few bolts that will need tightening..." The doctor grouses before taking a survey of the situation. Electricity crackles between the prongs of her weapon, ready to strike. She doesn't recognize that Halligan has fired at Hound, instead focusing on the shuttle that has apparently singled her out. "A candle? I've got a little more than that!" Sanguine aims and fires off an electrical bolt towards Blastoff. Combat: Sanguine sets her defense level to Aggressive. Alright, that kept Bombshell out, but the Insecticon is still functioning. Hound's about to fire another missile, but suddenly Halligan's shotgun round goes wide and hits the missile launcher in /just the right spot/ to detonate the explosive inside! Hound is blasted right out of the bunker, slamming into a wall behind it hard enough to wrench something loose inside of his wounded arm. When he gets up again, it just dangles uselessly at his side. "Ungh...what hit me..." he groans, then picks up his rifle from the ground and tries to find Bombshell again. If he can just take him out, then that should put an end to this whole thing, right? Ah, there he is. A little unsteadily, Hound takes aim and fires off a few shots. Combat: Hound strikes Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> with his Turret Gun attack! -3 Combat: You took 3 damage. Combat: You are very aware that your life is in danger! Combat: Hound's attack has damaged your Strength! Combat: Sanguine misses Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> with her Metabolic Destabilizer attack! -3 ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) "Yahahahaha!" Bombshell cackles as Halligan dramatically whirls about... to blast Hound! "So long, suckers! Now to claim the objective! Er, for the event!" Transforming back into robot mode, Bombshells hustles inside of Metroplex, running past all the brawling Insecticlones and Autobot security to his true objective! What does Elita find when she scans the camera? Well, it really does appear to be just an ordinary camera, transmitting a live video feed up to a nearby satellite, where it is then undoubtedly distributed around the galaxy. Even so, it appears to be following Bombshell. Alas, Bombshell is shot in the back as he runs inside, trips, and falls onto his face. "Hengnhhh! Hnnngh!" The Insecticon shakes with terror as he stands back up, surrounded by enemies and badly damaged! And yet... something... COMPELS him to keep going forward! "M-must complete objective!" he sputters. Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> sets his defense level to Guarded. Bombshell transforms into robot mode! Combat: Bombshell takes extra time to steady himself. Pass One of the Shrapnel'''s, maybe the same one which made the noise that seemed to ruin '''Air Raid's low-altitude high-speed pass, straightens up at the sound of Bombshell's cry of pain, as Air Raid smashes into the ground behind him, crushing a different drone. "The fe-male may be onto us, us! This location is becoming very hot, hot, hot. I'll cover your attempt... I think it's time... to release the deluge, deluge!" His antler-like horns spread and extend, a glow of Saint Elmo's Fire playing over the chromed steel as a smell of ozone fills the air. The cloud cover suddenly thickens and darkens as if someone had thrown a switch, and the rain releases with a crack of thunder as lightning leaps from cloud to cloud in four quick strokes, flickering back and forth overhead. There's a moment's pause as Shrapnel stands with hands outstretched to the sky before the lightning booms again, slamming down in shuddering forks into Shrapnel's antennae and pouring out of his hands in gouts of brilliant light which snap from one metallic surface to another, and another, until they finally ground themselves in the earth, leaving only ringing ears, a singed smell, and the afterimage on the eyes. Combat: Elita One compares her Technical to 80: Failure :( Combat: Shrapnel sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Shrapnel unleashes a chained attack against Metroplex City Defenses, Hound, Halligan, Sanguine, F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'>, and Elita One Combat: Shrapnel strikes Metroplex City Defenses with his Chain Lightning Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes Hound with his Chain Lightning Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes Halligan with his Chain Lightning Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes Sanguine with his Chain Lightning Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> with his Chain Lightning Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes Elita One with his Chain Lightning Chained attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Elita One's Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: That attack has temporarily limited F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'>'s Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Sanguine's Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Halligan's Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Hound's Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Metroplex City Defenses's Accuracy! (Blinded) Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> dodges the Autobot doctor's attack. "*Little more*, indeed...." The smug shuttle sweeps up, noticing Halligan hitting Hound. "...I take that back, Air Raid. Apparently *none* of you Autobots can aim." Except one... Blast Off notes Elita One pursuing Bombshell, so he again puts off an attack on Air Raid and goes for the pink femme. A now BLINDED target, no less... but Blast Off isn't here to play fair. Even if he was acting on his own, it's doubtful it would matter. He starts whistling Ride of the Valkries as he moves to strike! Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes Elita One with his Smokin! attack! -6 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Combat: Halligan sets his defense level to Aggressive. Elita One was well under way to figuring things out, she muses, "Radio signals being denied...someone wants this to be ended, not one of us..." She puts a hand to her chin absently, "Maybe if I figure out who" KRA-THOOOOOM! Sprawled on her back, the console in ruins, Elita One sparks with residue of powerful fulmination. <> As she shakes herself to her feet, Blast Off hits her in the back. What catches her interest though...is a smoking Bombshell going inside Metroplex. <> She growls as she transforms, <> The pink techcar that is Elita One burns some rubber as she moves to chase him down! Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Guarded. Elita One moves to kneel, her breastplate swings up on both sides, her arms retract, slipping behind her as she sinks down. A windshield rises up at the end, covering her face as she turns into a futuristic car. Halligan realizes he just shot Hound. Most unprofessional of him. "Sorry Hound! I--I---" The cold steel calm facade of the officer breaks a bit. He puts the shotgun away...a flick of the wrist for the ASP baton to eject from the forearm and straight into the Autobot's hand. Halligan scowls and makes his way towards Bombshell or who he thinks is the real Bombshell. Shrapnel's lightning strike the SWAT officer making him wince a bit. Like a relentless juggernaut the SWAT officer stomps through the smaller bots kicking. He charges and swings the ASP Baton at the Insecticon's knees. Combat: Pink Techcar <'Elita One'> strikes Bombshell with her Looking for the grill Bombshell... (Ram) attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: Pink Techcar <'Elita One'>'s attack has damaged your Agility! Combat: Halligan strikes Bombshell with his Tonya Harding taught me that one. attack! -2 Combat: You took 10 damage. Combat: Halligan's attack has damaged your Velocity! F-15E Strike Eagle <'Air Raid'> slams into a different drone, alas, fuselage scraping on the ground in a flurry of sparks. Landing gear is for chumps. <> He transforms and pushes himself upright. Blast Off is insulting him from afar, nothing new. He glares, but not for too long, as Shrapnel goes all Thor and calls down the wrath of the skies. -KZZZZZZAP- Raid staggers and shields his optics, effectively blinded and left smoking. "Primus!" <> Struggling to bring vision back to his HUD, he elects to blindly shoot, always a good idea! His warbow materializes in his hand and he draws back an electrified arrow charge. Air Raid folds and compacts into his robot mode. Combat: Air Raid strikes Shrapnel with his Voltramite Warbow attack! Hound is pretty sure he just hit Bombshell, but he can't be entirely certain because he's suddenly stricken by a lightning bolt. The electricity courses through his systems, a lance of white hot pain piercing every circuit in his body. And, when it ends, he finds it rather difficult to see through the blur of afterimages in his optics. "Just...just try to shoot /them/ from now on." he answers Halligan, shaking his head. Nope, still blurry. But, using his other senses, he tries to locate the real Shrapnel among the clones as per Elita's order, and snaps off a few more shots in his general direction. Combat: Hound strikes Shrapnel with his Turret Gun attack! -3 "Gah!" Sanguine stumbles, her optics on the fritz as she steps back, trying to take some cover behind what remains of the city's defenses. "Very, very nasty..." The doctor mutters to herself as the world fades back into view. "...Not altogether dissimilar from my attack." Sanguine notes as she rises up, scanning for targets. "Let's see if he can take it back!" Zap. Combat: Sanguine strikes Shrapnel with her Metabolic Destabilizer attack! -3 Combat: That attack has slowed Shrapnel, making him less efficient. ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Shrapnel pays for revealing himself among the swarm when he's staggered by a barrage of bullets from Hound's jeep turret! He looks up, raising a hand, and a purple jag of lightning cracks down from the sky into his antennae just as a shaft from Air Raid's warbow thwocks into his shoulder. Shrapnel spins with the force of the impact, clutching his shoulder as electricity lunges wildly from his fingertips towards his assailants! "Bombshell, shell! We can't hold them long, long!" His drones swarm up and try to block the Autobots, surging towards them in defense of their master even though several of them are fried by the lightning strokes in the process. He's far too busy to go after Elita- Bombshell will have to handle her himself. Combat: Shrapnel sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Shrapnel unleashes a chained attack against Hound, Sanguine, and Air Raid Combat: Shrapnel strikes Hound with his Reap the Whirlwind! Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes Sanguine with his Reap the Whirlwind! Chained attack! Combat: Shrapnel strikes Air Raid with his Reap the Whirlwind! Chained attack! Bombshell had made it into the command center of Autobot City, his entry aided by the fact that the door inside has been completely eaten away and the security gumbies are busy brawling Insecticlones! While he's inside, he plugs a data stick into Teletran Two. Teletran Two doesn't take it well--its screen goes all scrambled for a moment, flashes the words ACCESS DENIED, then ACCESS GRANTED. He spends up a moment uploading files onto the data disc, and exclaims victoriously, "I've got it, Shrapnel! We can l--" But then Elita One suddenly slams into his legs, sending him tumbling over her! He groans as he tries to stand back up on shaky feet, but then Halligan comes in from behind to bash him with a Kerrigan right behind his knees! "AUGH!" he cries, falling down onto all fours. "M-mercy! I... I surrender!" Then he grabs the sides of his head, rearing back in pain. "N-NOOOO! No... surrender AAAAHHHHH!" And with a wild cry, he flings himself at Elita One to try and eat her face! Bombshell transforms into rhinoceros beetle mode! Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> strikes Pink Techcar <'Elita One'> with his Devour attack! Combat: Mmmmmm! You gain 10 energon from your Feed attack. Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes again, but Elita One escapes into the city complex, where Blast Off has no desire to follow unless ordered otherwise. His instructions were to shoot Autobots, anyway, and now- finally- he can pursue Air Raid. There is just something about aerial Autobots that strikes him as presumptious. Flight is a DECEPTICON virtue, and the Autofools who try to copy it are simply arrogant fools who should be taught the error of their ways. Never mind that if anyone knows "arrogance", it's him. He adjust elevons again, banking to the left and up as he locks targets on the aerialbot. "Now, where was I? OH yes.... At a turbo-turkey shoot! And there's the turkey!" He hums the chicken dance song- not quite turkeys, but close enough, right? Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> strikes Air Raid with his Turkey Shoot attack! -5 ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Pink Techcar <'Elita One'> didn't have a face in her car mode, but that doesn't stop Bombshell from trying. <> Grimly she understands that the reasons her guard teams never reported in, was that they weren't functional to do so. She quickly reverts back into bot form as Bombshell tips her over, attacking her undercarriage. Her strength is just not great enough to push him away. "Get off me!" The beetle rips out some of her armor plating, "Get off me!" She growls, fumbling for her cannon. At point blank range, she raises it to Bombshell and gives him full power. "I said OFF!" Plasma belches from the weapon, backwashing into the room from the sheer proximity. The futuristic car breaks open in the middle, as the legs form upward. Her hood shifts into her armor plating with her arms coming together at the last, turning into Elita One's robot mode. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Elita One strikes Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> with her Plasma Cannon attack! Combat: You took 12 damage. Combat: Elita One's attack has damaged your Agility! Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> falls to the ground, unconscious. Air Raid winches and buckles at the extra dose of electricity, systems going offline one by one. "Sunnuva'..." At Elita's suggestion, he darts for the nearest turret. Only to get BOMBARDED by Blast Off. "ARGH!" The blast sends him sliding along the orange panels. "Ughh... Turkey? TURKEY!?" Gushing energon from his riddled chest, he picks himself up, climbs to the turret and tries to get a bead on that damnedable spaceship! Combat: Air Raid misses Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> with Metroplex City Defenses's Six-Gun's Ion-Pulse Rifle attack! Hound's optics are finally starting to clear up, and he can see that Shrapnel's still standing. Before he can fire off another shot, though, he's struck again by lightning, overloading his leg servos! Falling to his aft, the Autobot scout winces as he conducts a quick systems check. Yeah, he's not gonna stay in this fight much longer at this rate. Gonna have to take out Shrapnel quick. To that end, he launches a missile from his shoulder up at the Insecticon. "Come on, come on, go down already!" Combat: Hound strikes Shrapnel with his Missile Launcher attack! Halligan switches the baton to his secondary hand as the leg opens up to eject a pistol in Halligan's hand. (Like Robocop!) Halligan strides towards who he thinks is Shrapnel and starts firing. "We have them on the ropes. Hold on a bit more and we got this." Combat: Halligan strikes Shrapnel with his Laser-Sighted Pistol (Pistol) attack! Sanguine hears her number called. "On my way!" She calls out before transforming to her helicopter form without hesitation. The doctor darts quickly towards Air Raid's position, though she takes note of Hound's as well. Sanguine decides to hang around in her vehicle mode until things quiet down a bit, she's zippier that way. Combat: Sanguine sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Sanguine takes extra time to steady herself. Pass ___ ___ _ _ ___ _ _ / __| / _ \ | \| | / __| | | | | | (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_| \___| \___/ |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_) Sanguine's rotors snap to and begin to spin while her torso folds inwards to form an Agusta A109 helicopter. Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> gnaws onto Elita One in a savage display of ferocity, hunger, and desperation, stuffing metal into his maw so quickly that he can't quite get it all in. Messy eater! "Mmghgyangh--" He tries to gnaw on her some more, but when the plasma cannon fires, it lights him up like the 4th of July. Blue flame bursts out his back, and the Insecticon goes flying off of her, flopping onto its back. Its little legs writhe about until it ceases and finally dies, legs curling up. ...then another Rhinoceros Beetle, at miniature size, crawls out from the flaming wreck, transforms into a full-size Bombshell, and declares, "FOOOLS! That was an Insecticlone that I was controlling via cerebro-shell! I am the REAL Bombshell!" He stares at Elita One for a moment, and remembers that he's still in extremely hostile territory. "...er, nice meeting you!" Quickly stooping over to grab the data stick from his Insecticlone, he hustles out a hole in the wall, arms comically flailing before he launches himself skyward, transforming. He takes his half of the swarm with him. Bombshell transforms into robot mode! Combat: You are not COMBAT-OK Combat: Your stats and limits have been reset by an administrator. Combat: Bombshell begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'>, Halligan, Elita One, and Medical Helicopter <'Sanguine'> Bombshell transforms into rhinoceros beetle mode! Combat: Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> and Medical Helicopter <'Sanguine'> Shrapnel reflexively tries to fry the incoming munition, but the residual charge in his huge capacitors can't produce sufficient voltage to ground through the missile in flight, and it explodes right in front of him, hurling him back into the arms of two of his drones, while a third throws himself in the path of Halligan's bullets. "Enough, enough! They are too strong, the fe-male too wily, wily! There are easier feasts elsewhere, awaiting the tender mercies of the INSECTICONS, Cons, cons!" Throwing off sparks and bleeding oil and fuel from a dozen wounds, Shrapnel transforms again, seeming to shrink away into the swarm which forms up around him and takes flight! Shrapnel becomes SO TINY. Combat: Tiny Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> is no longer apparent in view! Combat: Like the wind, Tiny Stag Beetle <'Shrapnel'> is gone! Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> laughs as Air Raid gets bombarded- and then misses him "Tsk! Take some shooting lessons from Skydive, why don't you?", then suddenly the laughter stops. If anyone happens to be close by, they might notice a cerebro shell suddenly pop out from where Blast Off's head is hidden behind his nose cone and "flight cabin" area. The shuttle seems to falter slightly as he circles around. "What the slag? Oh...not AGAIN..." He mutters, realizing what's going on. This is NOT his idea of a good situation... taking a headlong, full-out assault on a heavily guarded fortress? No thanks... However, the Combaticon is now furious at the Insecticons. "Filthy bugs!!! You will PAY for THAT!" He fires off at several of the retreating insecticlones, destroying several, but the real ones are lost in the crowd. Grumbling, he then immediately sets course and heads straight up for the cool comfort of outer space, where none of these fools can follow- and back to the Olympics, where he's supposed to be right now. Combat: Space Shuttle <'Blast Off'> begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Air Raid mutters as his shot misses, glaring down at the turret targetting screen. "Piece a' junk!" He kicks it. Then promptly falls out and onto his back. There he remains, bleeding, and leering at the rainy sky and Blast Off retreating. Elita calls for a pursuit but he ain't budging. "I hope this means we WON!" he shouts at no one. ___ ___ _____ ___ _ _ | _ ) / _ \ |_ _| / __| | | | | | _ \ | (_) | | | \__ \ |_| |_| |___/ \___/ |_| |___/ (_) (_) Elita One collects herself. She calls out on the horn to 'get that Bombshell', but all things considered, the chance was minimal. <> She fires off several shots at the scampering Bombshell but he is out of sight even as she pursues him. By the time she's outside, everyone is fleeing. She grimaces, firing off yet another salvo of shots just because, then shakes her head. Looking down, she notes her savaged form dripping energon. Something different, something unique catches her gaze amidt the scrap and detrius of the attack. She moves over to examine the metal, then sits on her haunches. Elita One picks up the cerebro-shell, studying it. She starts to put it together a bit further, "And this came from Blast off did it? Well......now we know what bug crawled up his aft." YEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Medical Helicopter <'Sanguine'> hears Elita's call. Her order, really, to try and take out Bombshell. She spots him, and seems torn for a moment...but an order is an order. "I'm not built for this!" The helicopter protests as she turns to try and get in Bombshell's path. "Oh I'm going to have to replace my rotors again...Why didn't I listen to Air Raid..." The first time anyone has ever said that. Ever. And so Sanguine tries to ram Bombshell into the ground. Combat: Medical Helicopter <'Sanguine'> misses Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> with her Ram attack! -1 Halligan watches as the insecticons retreat. He reloads his pistol and heads for Autobot city to start clearing the rooms one by one. Hound sees Bombshell making his escape, and hears Elita yelling to stop him. Unfortunately, try as he might, he simply can't hit the fleeing Insecticon with his rifle. "Slag it all." he grumbles, then clicks on his radio. <> That could take a while. One of the dangers of Insecticon attacks is that in all the confusion they sometimes leave drones behind, miniaturized and crawling through the walls on missions of sabotage, espionage, or simple consumption. Air Raid vanishes out of reality. Air Raid has left. Rhinoceros Beetle <'Bombshell'> jinks out of the way of Sanguine just in time, and continues his aerial ascent! But for where?... Sky Lynx has arrived. Halligan vanishes out of reality. Halligan has left.